Kodi Shuts Down DRM Rumors

The people behind the hugely popular open source media player, Kodi, has come out attacking the "fake news" surrounding the software's embrace of DRM.

Kodi has been under pressure in recent times over the availability of third party plug-ins that has allowed pirated content to be viewed via the software.

One way to fight the piracy association, according to Kodi, is to attract more legitimate content providers to sign up to the platform. But this would require Kodi to be able to interface with the DRM being used by apps like Netflix. But talks of Kodi and DRM have led to the spread of numerous news stories, some exaggerating the truth, while others simply ignore it. Some have even suggested the implementation of DRM is Kodi's way to crack down on piracy.

To clear the air, Kodi this week took to their blog again to clarify their stance, and they couldn't be clearer.

"Let's try again and make this crystal clear: Kodi is a free, open-source neutral software. Kodi will never, ever require DRM to work, nor will it ever be a locked software. Ever! Read that a couple more times for good measure," writes Kodi on their official blog.

Any DRM support would be for existing DRM in apps like Netflix, for Kodi to be able to interface with these existing systems to be able to support a Netflix plug-in, for example.

As for the availability of unwanted piracy plug-ins, Kodi says their position is clear. They will never prevent users from using Kodi in any way they like, including the use of piracy plug-ins, and they will not "condone, condemn, encourage or recommend any particular use of Kodi", whether these plug-ins contain DRM or not.